ORESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE

This debut album by the band is perhaps slightly more structured than future outputs, but that's neither a plus, nor a minus. It's just how they were in that moment. OK, lets lay down the Law. This is largely instrumental jamming of the better kind.

Now, I could never come to terms with as why some people have that serious dislike for jamming, a form of credible and artistic approach to improvising. OSC are a largely improvising band with a door open to virtually anyone to join in. In their live performances, you'll never hear the same track performed in an identical way and I just love that sense of freedom and openness!

These guys actually fill a huge gap in Prog. Spacey, yet sophisticated in their approach to simplicity. The rhythm section swings in a slightly jazzy way, providing a vehicle to the synth layering of "space sounds" and the guitars to add some nice licks but nothing to do with boring Electronic stuff that puts you in a coma for little gain..

Now, onto the customary comparisons. The effort is much closer to better moments of Steve Hillage, but also invites memories of the Floydian approach of the '70s. Contrary to the space sound, very little to do with Hawkwind, a band that I also like - with some reservations.

Ageing hippies - like myself - may remember of the attitude to "sharing is caring" that's not known in today's "dog eat dog" societies running a threadmill of greed. These people have the generosity of heart to provide free downloads of numerous live performances from their website. Hard copies too, could be obtained at a peppercorn price.

Now, that's the spirit I can happily relate to. Aside from the very enjoyable music, they make me feel like I've gained an instant family, a tribe. The package as a whole (music and attitudes combined) deserves a 5 from me, nothing less.

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The play on words of `High Rise' could not be more appopriate, as constantly stoned and ragged unhinged electric guitar solos over buzzing winds and cool electronic textures that ebb and flow to build the tension. Maddening tabla and middle eastern percussion tap away throughout the entire piece to create a very disorientating atmosphere.

`Kafi (For Your Love)' is a reflective, heartfelt and spiritual sitar/drone piece with a deeply ambient and swirling keyboard middle very similar to the Manuel Gottsching/Ashra `New Age Of Earth' bubbling runs. Lovely and mystical.

The cosmic electronic effects, folky acoustic guitar and bluesy lead electric playing of the grooving `Spirit Blues' drifts amongst low-key synth washes and hypnotic tabla percussion. Sure to get you nodding your head in appreciation.

`Repetition' lives up to it's name, although it's never boring. A long droning ambient piece full of sitar, tabla and glistening dancing crystaline keys, almost drifting into programmed/Tangerine Dream territory, something that several OSC albums have also done lately.

`Sitars In Space' is the most unsettling piece on the album. Although full of howling cosmic winds and long drawn-out echoing sitar, much of the piece travels through eerie and murky murmerring dark bass tension and groaning deep-space machine electronics. Like a sinister nightmare, this track almost compliments dark space works like Tangerine Dream's `Zeit' in parts, and it shares that albums' sense of overwhelming isolation and solitude.

The Oresund Space Collective albums keep coming along nicely, but hopefully the members involved in this wonderful diversion will continue to collaborate and release more quality works in the future! Each new release by the O.S.C edges them further to the classic drifting psych/space works of bands like Agitation Free. I buy everything the band releases and have yet to be disappointed. Every new release brings them closer and closer to a truly defining work.

But for now, `West, Space and Love' is a meditative and captivating album to place alongside artists like Daevid Allen's `Sacred Geometry' that successfully fuses ambient, electronic and ethnic/world elements to create an intoxicating and timeless psychedelic spacey journey.

Highly recommended. Four stars!

An air of mystery surrounds the opening few minutes of the first part. A thick wall of electronic noise purrs away like pulsing generators, while gentle blowing winds and hypnotic bass draws to mind `Ricochet'-era Tangerine Dream. Warm tambourine percussion enhances this sound and gives it a repetitive trance-like loop, again like the 70's electronic artists. The music slowly builds in urgency, like a suffocating vacuum, as alien-sounding wailing synth effects creep through, stony strummed chords play over and over into infinity alongside ghostly floating organ. Then without warning, the drums kick in with a warm skipping rhythm and a melodic guitar solo take flight!

Overloaded with sonic sound effects, part two tears through deep space as the guitar takes a rougher turn. Throbbing synths and snappy upbeat drum-work soars even higher, while Steve Hillage-like fuzzed up guitars drift around the dreamy atmosphere. There's a great jazzy groove to much of this section, especially the drumming. Half way through the beat gets pounding and harder, the bass more chugging and dominating like Hawkwind. The music takes on an almost dervish like quality, maddening and overwhelming. Love how the rhythm slows up and speeds down, back and forth, really throws the listener around! Lots of squalling wah-wah guitar dripping with noise here, and some gorgeous glissando and a knockout bubbling keyboard run near the end!

Frantic drumming and crazy jumping synths fight it out before the storm subsides as we enter the third movement. A mellow come-down with some loopy keyboards, acid-drenched bluesy guitar and very loose addictive bass and drums. Fans of early 70's Floyd will love the first ten minutes of this section, and it's probably the highlight of the album. Then the beat expertly picks up again, with some shimmering keys and roaring guitar solos fighting through hissing winds and stormy waves. I love how the drumming takes on a very hypnotic, almost programmed feel! This final section has a lot of tension, and it ends the piece overall in an energetic and dramatic manner.

I react differently to this album each time I listen to it. Gripping and hugely atmospheric one time, then plodding and mundane the next. You just have to be in the right mood for it. Anyone who hasn't heard the band before might be better inclined to give the terrific `Live at Roadburn 2010' double LP a listen first, as it offers much more variety.

The CD is limited to 500 copies, so anyone interested would be wise to get in touch with the band or their reliable prog supplier and snap up a copy! I think it's important for us to support talented artists committed to our favourite progressive related genres like this, and Oresund Space Collective put out consistently good quality releases.

Although not a lot of emotional depth, `Sleeping With The Sunworm' is still a very vibrant, colourful and very listenable cosmic trip around the galaxy!

Three stars.

So this is actually a leftover (I hate the adjective) of those 2006 jams, however, that does not mean it is a weaker jam, not at all, here we can appreciate and enjoy once again what these crazy and original musicians are capable of. The rhythm is dynamic, not that slow nor that faster, it brings moments of tranquility and some other of intensity. As usual, the synths work is phenomenal because it produces the different atmospheres and textures that work as the context of the guitars. The jam flows so deliciously that all of a sudden when we are enjoying its climax, it finishes, so I have stated in other reviews that some I don't love some longer tracks, but here I would have loved more minutes of the adventurous escape of the space police, before being finally chased.

Cool work once again, though in my (maybe ridiculous) policy I don't usually rate with more than two stars to 20-less minutes releases, because in my opinion those are mostly for fans. But well, don't pay attention to my rating, you better get this track (and more OSC music) and have fun.

Enjoy it!

Another feast of space progressive rock can be found in this album which was released last year (2011) though recorded in 2010. Its name is "Entering into the Space Country" and since the title one can imagine what the band offer here, well, if you already know them, then you will already know in which country are you entering. This time they share a three-song album that makes a total time of 44 minutes.

It opens with "Born between the Stars" whose 22 minutes give us a journey to their peculiar and particular galaxy. It starts softly and gets more intense while the seconds run. The atmosphere and spacey synthesizers are always there, sharing nuances and colors, while the guitars can offer not so trippy notes, or interesting vivid riffs, if required. I like the changes in this track, the first minutes are soft, but after five it changes and becomes faster; later it slows down again and at minute nine its intensity increases once again, expressing the activities that one can have while being born between the stars, well, let your imagination fly. The jam continues for some minutes, creating those different inner passages that together complete the puzzle.

""Red Earth Calling" is the shortest composition with "only" seven minutes. The funny thing here is that OSC has made us used to their long 10+ minutes jams, so in a shortie like this everything passes fast, so when you less imagine it, the song has already finished. This track is calm and atmospheric, with nice guitars on it and a soft rhythm, though there is a moment when it seems to become a bit heavier or chaotic, but that does not actually happen.

The last track is "Rising Tides and Floating Nebulas". The first couple of minutes are not that attractive with an uncertain sound that fortunately morphs later; when it changes, the rhythm is now attractive and even addictive after three minutes, with fast drums, cool guitar notes and very good synth and keyboard effects. When it becomes more intense is when I enjoy it the most, because it transmits that vertigo and pressured feeling that makes me want to run, haha funny. But well, later it slows down considerably and that emotion is lost in me. The last three minutes are nice, trying to recover from the lower moment, but it does not reach its peak again.

As usual, this is a very nice album from this collective whose music are guarantee of good time and quality, however, I did not feel that motivated or caught by what they offered here, that is why my grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!

Actually, these are nine live men on earth jamming, improvising and creating a trip to several places. What I love from Oresund Space Collective's music is how it introduces us into other worlds, one new song is one new world, and each and every of them has its own passages, its own lands in which we will imagine, discover, trip. I believe when music can produce these things on the listeners, then it simply succeeds, and that has happened with me.

This collective released in 2010 an album entitled "Dead Man in Space" which consists of four songs that make a total time of 63 minutes. As usual, they bomb us with some long jams that let us expand our minds and experience spacey trips. The best example is the first track which is a long 32-minute length song full of synthesizers, guitars and spacey nuances and atmospheres. Here, though we will find several minor changes, we will not find moments where the music dramatically falls or becomes anything new, no, here they create a very cool long jam that perfectly flows and does not bores at all.

In spite its long duration, one can easily listen to it without feeling the need of skipping it after some minutes, because it little by little traps you until you become part of it and cannot escape until the very end. There are always drums accompanying the prominent synthesizers, while the bass creates a sometimes soft, sometimes faster mood that is perfectly complemented by the almost non-stop guitar work. There are of course moments more interesting than others, but in general, this ambitious 32-minute song left me satisfied. In fact, I would honestly had enough with this long theme and another shorter one.

"Who tripped on the C(h)ord" is a ten-minute song with a more relaxed mood, perfect for the night or a tired day. The music once again flows without a problem, creating nice atmospheres, soft passages in which the listener can be doing any work needed, I mean, you can lie on your bed and rest, you can be working, doing homework, reading, etc. and the music will not harm you at all, on the other hand, it is your friend and works as a partner, it may be a positive distracter.

A new element is added in "Space Jam 2.2." where since the first seconds we can listen to a delicious rhythmic saxophone. Seemed that it would only appear in the introductory moments of the song, however it actually has a main role here, accompanying the "basic" instruments during the whole jam. Here we can also listen to an addictive and more participative bass, while as usual, the drums, synths and guitars create landscapes, spacey effects and a diversity of textures. A thing that makes this song different, is that here we can clearly appreciate different passages, some faster and more emotional than others, where the progression is evident, putting dynamism to the track, offering a quite interesting creation.

The last song truly contrasts with the previous, because it is only a three-minute improvisation that works as a closer, nothing more. Well, as you noticed I am like this album, which stands in the top (maybe second) of my OSC preferences. My final grade will be four stars.

Enjoy it!

This song is a leftover from a very inspired event in 2006, speaking of two days at the Black Tornado Studios in Copenhagen/Denmark. They had recorded material of more than 5 hours with the result of the highly appraised 'Black Tomato' as well as 'It's All About Delay' albums. The previously unreleased track is just taken from these sessions. If you already know the aforementioned albums this song will not bring anything new to the table. For newcomer though it's a recommended appetizer in order to enter the band's realm.

Now chased by the dreaded Space Police the OSC crew extremely grooves during twelve minutes, backed by a swirling organ. Spaced out synths plus two expressive rhythm and solo guitars are caring for the playful details. And it's the musicians' interaction which convinces first and foremost. This outtake is available for free on the Prog Sphere Bandcamp website.

Most bands that catch my attention usually do so for the quality of their music. Realistically however, that's not the only thing that could intrigue me. Oresund Space Collective first piqued my curiosity by the sheer amount of output they record. Although they have not been together for a great deal of time, this band already has a sizeable discography to work with, and releasing a few albums each year, it does not look like they are going to lose their pace any time soon. Sadly, this quantity comes at the sacrifice of musical depth. Although their final 2011 album 'Sleeping With The Sunworm' demonstrates some relaxed chemistry between the band members, the loosely improvised nature of this mega-jam is light on dynamic, tension, or really anything that would have me coming back for second helpings.

'Sleeping With The Sunworm' is essentially a single, album-length composition, split into three parts. Although there are not themes or recurring melodies to tie everything together, the music throughout each track sticks to such a narrow wavelength that any of the ideas here could be interchangeable with either of the other tracks. Being 'narrow' is not necessarily a bad thing; Oresund Space Collective have latched onto a sound they are very proficient with, and exploit every nook of it without being distracted by other angles. In this band's case, the music leans toward instrumental, laid-back space rock. There is a thick keyboard presence here, embellishing the atmosphere and adding a pleasant layer of ear candy. The most impressive element of the band are the guitar textures, however. Although 'Sleeping With The Sunworm' is rife with your typical space rock soloing, the guitars light up in the more rhythmic sections, where patient ideas are left to boil in a post-rock kettle. These ideas are usually very minimalistic, and gradually develop with the longwinded flow of the band. As interesting as a few of these ideas are however, I don't think it's enough to pull Oresund's work on 'Sunworm' into a place that I could actively recommend to another listener. Oresund Space Collective are a professional and capable group of musicians, but their approach to the space rock style conjures impressions of a blindfolded artist rushing at a canvas; although something interesting will come out once in a while, the lack of intention and focus costs the art a lot of its potential.

Though Oresund Space Collective is a relatively new band, they have already released a vast amount of albums in which one can really have a feast of space progressive rock. In 2011 they released a couple of records, one of them is "Sleeping with the Sunworm" which is a one-song-album divided in three parts. This collective consists of six members, two of whom play synthesizers, so you can imagine this music is full of atmospheres, tripping colors and changing nuances. Worth mentioning is that despite it was released last year, it was actually recorded in 2008.

Fifty-seven minutes is what the band offers this time, as I said, divided in three long parts. The first one happens to be the shortest one, with 15-minute length. It has a soft and delicate beginning, full of special effects and even some mid-east resemblances. It is important to say that if you want to have a better experience, better to use good headphones, so you can truly appreciate the variety of sounds. In this first part the guitars don't really play the main role as in other songs of theirs, here synthesizers and percussion take the leadership, though in the last minutes there is a nice guitar riff, accompanied by some cool repetitive bass lines, and constant drums.

In the second part there is a change in the rhythm and structure, we can appreciate more dynamism and a at last, the guitar in the leading role. I believe it is almost impossible not to think of Ozric Tentacles while listening to this, their music is in the same line, though of course, this Space Collective create their original and interesting jams themselves. The twenty minutes of this second part are vertiginous, fast and hypnotic, much better than the first one, in my opinion of course.

And the final part is like a mixture of the previous two, because here we can have laid back moments, soft spacey atmospheres, constant and accurate drums, and some rockier guitar notes. There are passages where the intensity seems to increase, but it is only a warning because it actually does not happen, so in this track we have relaxed music, but not as relaxed as the first part, and trippy moments but not as fast and vertiginous as the second part. Good, but not the best Oresund Space Collective tunes I've known.

If it was me, I would honestly omit the first part and leave this album as a two-part CD, anyway it evidently shows the musician's quality and how their music is capable of creating images and taking us into their realm. Recommendable for fans of space prog rock. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!

This amorphous musical co-operative revolve around the core of synth wizard Scott Heller aka Dr Space, and normally feature at least two guitarists, bass, other keyboards and drums. So, being of a certain vintage, with a line up like that I am immediately put in mind of 70s space rockers Man, amongst others.

Entering Into The Space Country, released in June this year, kicks off with Born Between Stars which shifts through the gears around a simple enough structure, hitting a good groove about halfway through, and propels one along at a fair rate of knots, with some almost Hendrix like soloing later on. More Ozrics than Man, and at twenty two minutes long this is what one might term a typical OSC track, and fans of the band will not be disappointed. Rising Tides And Floating Nebulas - now, to my mind this is the sound that Man did all those years ago (try Spunk Rock off Greasy Truckers - a massive wigout and still in my all time top ten live performances after nearly 40 years!) and for once I don't mind a band being a bit backward looking, as any band that can rock with the spirit of the much missed Micky Jones is alright by me. Things gently float back to ground with Red Earth Calling, it's been a good trip.

Nothing startlingly new here, but fans of OSC and space rock in general can buy with confidence.